


More than sharks love blood

by stormchasersteve



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Thundershield - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-10
Updated: 2013-12-10
Packaged: 2018-01-04 06:26:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1077682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormchasersteve/pseuds/stormchasersteve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little Thundershield fic for nausicaa82, as prompted with the quote: "I love that man. I love him more than sharks love blood."  Steve gets furious at Thor, and Natasha has to pick up the pieces.</p>
            </blockquote>





	More than sharks love blood

Steve punched the training bag off its hook with exasperated grunt, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of one taped hand.  His knuckles would be bruised in the morning, he knew, but as he stretched out his fingers with a grimace and headed over to where the bag had landed, he couldn’t bring himself to care.  They would be healed by the morning anyway, he thought grimly as he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder.

"Cap-!" he was startled from his reverie by Natasha’s voice calling sternly from the doorway where she stood arms folded and brows furrowed.  He turned his back to her and carried on returning the bag to the hook.  "Steve, _stop_.  You’ve been in here for nearly five hours already,” she said, and the mixture of frustration and concern cut right to the pit of his stomach.  He flinched away the guilt and hung up the bag.

"Need to burn off some steam," he muttered, cringing at how sullen he sounded even as he said it.

"You’re going to burn _yourself_ out.  You’ve got to eat.”  There was an impatient sigh before she snapped his name and pulled him round to face her.  He bristled stubbornly under her intense stare.  “ _Steve_!  You came straight in here after… after we got back, and you _know_ what your metabolism’s like.”  He ducked his gaze from her, and started to come up with an excuse, but she cut in.  “Uh!  I don’t _care_.  Get showered, get changed, and meet me at Joe’s Burger Joint.”

With that, she spun on her heel and stalked out the gym, leaving him sagging in her wake.

* * *

By the time Steve arrived at Joe’s, there was already a gigantic double cheeseburger waiting for him, in front of the empty seat opposite Natasha.  His stomach growling angrily at the sight, he slid in to the booth and took a huge bite before even meeting her eyes.

Natasha waited patiently as he polished of the burger and the great big pile of fries and onion rings on his plate, barely stopping for air as he finally submitted to the demands of his body.  But too soon all the food was gone, and there was only a loaded silence on the table between them.

"So are you going to talk to me about it?" she huffed finally, but Steve just glowered into his milkshake.  He didn’t want to _think_ about it, let alone talk about it.  He just wanted to go back to his rooms, ice his throbbing knuckles, and sleep for the next week.  Or maybe order another burger to go, first.  “Steve…  Steve! _Look_ at me!  You almost _punched_ him!”

Steve snapped his head up, his jaw jutting stubbornly as he glared at her. “He deserved it.”

"How can you _say_ that!” she said, gaping at him, “He saved your skin!”

"And he disobeyed a direct order and almost got himself _killed_ in the process,” he snapped back,  “You of _all_ people ought to know-“

"Don’t you even _dare_!” she hissed at the half-formed insinuation, “You know he’s not a _soldier_ , Steve - he’s a Norse _god_.  The rules… they don’t really apply to him.”

"I could care less if he’s John the god damned _Baptist_ , Natasha!” he bit back, his fist coming down on the table with a small thump that rattled his glass.  “He follows orders out in the field, or he’s no longer on the team.”

"Steve, this is more than that - the guy is your _friend_.”

“ _Not_ in battle, he’s not!” Steve found himself shouting, and Natasha jumped back in shock.  He bowed his head in shame, taking a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm his furious heartbeat.  “Sorry.  I’m sorry, Nat.”

"Hey… this isn’t like you," she said, her tone softer, even concilliatory, as she reached for his clenched fist.  "Why’s this got under your skin so much?  It’s not like Tony doesn’t disobey your orders, like, all the damn time - hell, even Clint and I have done it on occasion."

"I just - _god_ , Nat.”  Steve shook his head, a shuddering sigh escaping his lips before he could think to stop it.  “I love him, you know.  The thought of him getting hurt - of putting his life in danger just to protect my hide…”

"Look, I _know_ you two are close - I mean, you’ve got a lot common, newbies to 21st century America and all.  We’re all happy you’ve become such good friends,” Natasha said, squeezing his hand.  “But… Steve, it took me, Clint _and_ Tony to hold you back from pummelling him - and it’s just as well all the civilians had been evacced, because if the press had heard your language…”

"No Nat, I - you see -" Steve screwed up his eyes, rubbing them with finger and thumb.  His heart was thudding heavily in his chest, and he took a deep breath.  "I _love_ that man. I love him more than sharks love _blood_.  Don’t you see?  I can’t… I can’t _think_ straight around him.  I can barely control myself - everytime he so much as flexes a muscle, it’s all i can do not to sink my damn _teeth_ into him.  He - his friendship - just being _around_ him, it’s the only thing in my life that makes any kind of sense these days, and when he… when did that,” Steve paused and swallowed, his voice gone small, “it _scared_ me, Nat.  I’ve seen some things in my time, but that - thinking that he -“  his voice cracked, and he scrubbed a hand over his face as his breath hitched in his chest.  Natasha rubbed a thumb over the back of his arm.  “I can’t do this, Nat.  I can’t risk the integrity of the team because of my _feelings_ \- but I don’t know how much longer i can keep hiding them…”

"Well," Nat started levelly, and Steve was relieved to find she didn’t look as shocked as he’d thought she would.  "Maybe you shouldn’t?"

"I can’t do that, I’m _Captain America_ ,” Steve said, mocking his own moniker in a sing-song voice, “I can’t… I can’t be _gay_.”

"Why not?"  Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Land of the free, home of the brave… what’s more free and brave than loving who you choose, and not being ashamed of it?  Hell, who knows," she smirked, "maybe it’s just what this country needs?"


End file.
